River of Opals
by TimeLordOfPie
Summary: A teenage girl gives up everything, in an attempt to help someone she doesn't even know, leading to a life of confusion and danger inside an anime she had sworn to avoid for good.
1. Chapter 1

**I Don't own Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood, Sherlock or Doctor Who.**

The table crashed to the floor in a flurry of papers and the wood gave a groan of protest before promptly collapsing in on itself. I glared at the flimsy TV table heaped in the middle of my room. I leaned over the mess and yanked my iPod out of the wreckage, untangling my headphones from a loose piece of debris. I glanced at the image on the screen and threw the offending object on my bed. The picture stared back mockingly.

A coffin was halfway down into the grave, surrounded by military personnel. I held in tears with sheer willpower, and turned away from it. I grabbed my bag that was hanging from the bedpost, as well as the knee length khaki jacket that was trapped underneath it. Swinging my bedroom door open with more force than was probably necessary I called out to my Aunt Samantha.

"Sam, I'm headed out for the library."

She poked her head in from the kitchen, flour dusted across her lemon yellow apron, and caught in her dirty blonde hair. Her green eyes surveyed me warily,

"What do you need from the library? You are aware we have wifi, right? Besides, I thought you were marathoning that anime your brother recommended for you. You loved it yesterday."

I shook my head rapidly.

"Your use of the past tense is the key here. Love-ED. Formerly. As in, no more. It was amazing, until they killed Hughes. And Roy was crying! Well, he said it was raining, but that was probably to save face or something…In any case I am now DONE with Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood! I am now going to the library to pick up that summer reading for AP English."

Sam looked at me blankly for a second before rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever just make sure that you're back by 7, Taylor should be back from work early and we can all eat dinner together. Why don't you just download the eBooks for those? It's much less work and takes up less space."

I grabbed my house keys from the bowl on the sofa table by the door,

"You know very well that virtual books can't compare, they don't have the same smell and feel, plus if I'm going to remember this crap for the rest of my life I want the picture to be of traditional ink and paper."

Sam's demeanor changed almost automatically,

"About that, you've got your medicine, don't you? I would hate for you to have an episode in the middle of the library and be helpless. Maybe I should go with you just in case-"

I cut her off quickly,

"Its in my bag, I can handle myself. I've been dealing with this for a very long time now."

She looked unsure, "Yeah, you have, but no one really knows how an eidetic memory affects those in their teens, everyone else grows out of it between 6 and 12, that medicine isn't actually foolproof…"

Rolling my eyes again I waved as I walked to the door, "I'll be fine, see you at dinner Sam."

I caught my reflection in the hall mirror and stopped. Brown eyes stared back, set on a thin face framed with chin length scraggly coffee brown hair. It wasn't frizzy, curly, or straight. It was caught in that no man's land of extreme waves that made it look like I had just crawled out of the shower and bunched my hair up in a towel for 7 hours straight. My bangs were parted slightly to the left and were about eye length when they weren't swept off to the side.

I ran my eyes over my outfit to make sure that it matched. A Red t-shirt that proclaimed 'Dawn of the Daleks', dark boot-cut jeans, and ankle high black converse. My khaki jacket was a birthday present from my brother. It was a custom order female version of the tenth doctor's trench coat, and had a bewildering amount of hidden pockets on the inside. With one last disapproving look at my hair I charged out the door, swinging it shut behind me, and took off at a brisk pace for the library.

I had acted nonchalant in front of her but Sam's words brought back old worries. An eidetic memory was as close to perfect as was recorded so far, and even then had its limits. How clear the mental image was supposedly faded after a few minutes, and the ability to keep the perfect recollections for even that long was supposed to fade around six years old. My brain had baffled doctors when I kept the images clear for idefinent amounts of time. And even more so when it lasted as long as it had. I was 17 and going into my senior year of high school, and my memory was still the way it had always been.

Remembering everything took its toll on me. I had trouble sleeping and my appetite faded. I was too thin, and any muscle I had from gymnastics as a child had faded years ago. The only thing that kept my weight acceptable was a slight addiction to soda pop. The kind of attention the ability brought was also unwanted. Teenagers didn't want a friend who would remember their every mistake, and who didn't even have to try to pass tests. Bullying was common, but I couldn't care less.

My most pressing issue was losing my mind. I was always told how brilliant it was, and how blessed I was to have I did, but I didn't see it. I was constantly plagued with images, but head was getting crowded when I was around 14. I nearly went crazy. But my brother Taylor came through for me. Apparently a show starring a modern version of Sherlock Holmes had the idea of a mind palace. I heard the theory while my brother and I were watching the show. It all clicked. I couldn't get rid of the images, but I could _move_ them. If they were organized they'd still be there and I could get to them, but they couldn't overwhelm me.

And that theory worked. But I would still have sudden attacks. It would be like a door opened in my mind and I was flooded with images and I was suffocating in them, and I couldn't tell where I was anymore, or what I was doing. I had collapsed in the mall before, when on my own, and had barely managed to take the anti-anxiety drug I had been prescribed for just that kind of situation. I had finally got my bearings and realized that no one had noticed. I could have been having a seizure and the people in that mall couldn't have cared less, being more worried about getting their shopping done.

Remembering the encounter nearly sent me into an attack, but I yanked myself out of it forcefully, just in time to notice that I had been walking for too long. I looked over my shoulder and saw the street I should have turned at a few blocks behind me.

I started to turn when I heard it, a low moan from the alleyway to my right. I took a few tentative steps forward and looked in cautiously. I immediately noticed a large amount of blood pooled around a man wearing blue, I automatically took a step forward to see if I could help, but was stopped. I reached a finger up to the air in front of me and tapped the exact area I had just tried to push through. My finger rebounded off a barrier, sending beige ripples through the air. The man groaned again, causing me to shift my attention back to him. I had noticed earlier that the blue he wore was from the military uniform I had seen in FMAB.

I had assumed it was a mugged cosplayer but after seeing this 'magic barrier' I wasn't so sure. The man finally realized there was someone nearby and turned his head to face me. I had never seen this man before in my life, but he looked at me like I was an angel sent from god, his eyes filled with hope. He took a deep breath and barely managed to rattle out, "Help…me…"

He collapsed back down to the ground. I didn't know who he was, or what was going on, but I did know that I didn't want to be like those people from the mall, who walked by tragedy too concerned with themselves to help another human being in danger. I made my bony left hand into a fist, mindful of my class ring on the other hand; I didn't really feel like having to help that man while nursing my own broken knuckle. I thought back to my brothers' pointers on self defense I sent punch flying at the barrier, orienting my wrist as I had seen my brother demonstrate to me all those months ago.

More ripples spread across the alley, these were more fierce, and I felt I was getting somewhere. I sent hit after hit, even throwing in a few kicks. Eventually the ripples where everywhere, it looked as if the entire barrier were vibrating, then it stopped. There was no dissipation like with the previous ripples. These stopped in the middle of where they were going. Everything was completely and utterly still. Then the barrier went from clear, to pure white.

A figure of white outlined in fuzzy black formed in the space. It cocked its head at me and grinned. I had to hold back a gasp. I was right. That man had to be a real Amestrian, because this could only be the Truth. I gulped as it surveyed me,

"So, you dare to knock on the door? And very obnoxiously too."

I shook my head vigorously.

"I didn't mean it that way, I just want to get that man, he's in trouble, and someone needs to help him."

I waited with bated breath as it seemed to think of a response. I thought it wasn't going to reply when suddenly,

"And you think that you are the person he needs?"  
"Well, I am the only one here. "

If a god-like creature could roll its eyes, I bet that one did.

He stepped back away from the center of the barrier,

"You are only here by luck. The dimensions are weak here, leaving a hole; I'm just guarding it until it gets fixed. You say you want to pass through in order to help, what do you have to offer?"

I desperately searched my memory, positive what I was looking for was located in the 2nd floor coat closet in my mind palace. I was right. I pulled out my cheap cell phone.

"A philosopher's stone would gain passage, right?"

"Yeeees, but you obviously don't have one."  
"No, I don't, but all the stone is, is energy. Human lives condensed into a sort of portably battery for alchemists to use to fuel their transmutations. Well, here's a battery, portable energy. That works, right?"

It laughed, its multitude of voices grating on my nerves, nearly sending me running for the hills, and making me doubt my conclusion. It paused for a second, the longest second in my life.

"Correct. You may pass, human."

My cell phone was grabbed by black hands and was pulled into the barrier. The barrier faded once it was touched by the cell phone. I took a step forward but paused when I heard the Truth speak again.

"But remember, there is no going back."

Those words made my blood run cold. He continued, "This rift is closing for good the moment you step through. Are you sure you're willing to give up everything for this one human you don't even know?"

I gulped, doubts surging through my mind. But I straightened my back and stepped through anyway. I would never forgive myself if I acted like those people; the ones who ignored me, who would have let me die. I wouldn't let a man die in front of me when I could change it.

I felt the barrier slip closed behind me, and struggled not to look back. I had made my choice, no going back. The change of scenery disoriented me, the colors changed drastically, and I nearly sighed in frustration. I guess I'm an anime character then.

I brought forward the memory of the health class we went over first aid in. I used my pocketknife from one of my numerous pockets to rip my red over shirt, exposing my black tank top. It was several minutes before the bandages were in place and I had deemed it was safe to move the man. He had stuttered out that his name was Kyle earlier on, and I had asked random questions through the entire process in an attempt to keep him both awake and calm. I had learned that his fiancé was at home with their 2 dogs and one cat, which in his opinion was possessed by some sort of demon.

With Kyle leaning on me we stumbled towards the street, attempting to get out of the alleyway.

"Hey Kyle, not to pry or anything, but how did this happen?"

"I was helping in the pursuit of the Freezer Alchemist when I was shot by one of his rouge water bullets. I barely managed to pull myself out of the way of the fight before I collapsed. Thanks for the help, miss."

My heart skipped a beat. The Freezer Alchemist was the focus of the very first episode. I was at the beginning of the series, if it followed the storyline at all. But if it did, I knew what would happen. For a while at least, I had given up after the burial of Hughes left me emotionally scarred.

As I stumbled down the street with an injured soldier weighing me down near to the point of collapse it finally hit me. I was in the world of the Fullmetal Alchemist. I nearly laughed at the irony. Not even an hour after I swore to never watch the show again I ended up living in it.

**Comments welcome, the next chapter will most likely be up next week. Thanks ^.^  
Also, I know this chapter got a little ranty in the middle but I had to explain some things, sorry if flowed a bit weird. **

**~TimeLordOfPie **


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood**

Chapter Two

It was dark in Central by the time we reached a crowd of people. The both of us were covered in sweat and my jeans were soaked in blood from kneeling in the puddles surrounding Kyle while I was bandaging him up as best as possible. I was extremely lucky that he was a rather short man, because I was a bit on the short side and indisputably underweight, with no muscle mass whatsoever.

The both of us were dangerously close to collapse when we finally reached the crowd of people. My vision was blurring and I was seeing dark spots, flashes of purple and black. I heard one of Kyle's friends call out to us, but I couldn't comprehend the words through the pounding in my head. Someone I assumed was a medic took him off my hands, and I lost track of him. I doubted I would see him again anytime soon.

I was hunched over, with my hands on my knees attempting to catch my breath when I finally realized that someone was talking to me. I glanced up, through a curtain of hair and barely managed to keep calm. Looking at me with concern was one Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes. I took one last deep breath and asked, "I'm sorry, what was that again?"

He laughed a little and gave me a small smile, "I was asking what your name was, Miss."

I nodded, still trying to breathe, "Ah; makes sense I suppose. My name's Stephanie Arcaro. And you are?"

Hughes grinned, "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. That was quite something you did for Private Moriston back there."

I looked at him funny for a second before realization hit, Kyle's last name hadn't come up in our ridiculous Q&A session. I shrugged, "Meh, couldn't leave him there."

Hughes shook his head, "That's the thing, you could've. You aren't military, it wasn't any of your business, but you stopped to help. That takes kindness."

I squirmed under his gaze, uncomfortable with the assessment, "Well, not really, it didn't really occur to me that I could just keep walking. It was kind of a given, guys hurt ya help him…"

There was a pause before he stuck his hand out to shake, smiling slightly, "It's a pleasure to meet someone like you Miss Arcaro."

I stared at his hand for a second before showing mine, covered in blood, and laughing slightly, "Heh, it's a pleasure to meet you too, but I wouldn't recommend human contact at the moment. You know all that 'first rule of first aid' crud. Treat all blood as if contaminated."

He nodded in agreement, "Right. We should get you cleaned up."

I shook my head vigorously, "No, no I'm fine, I'll just be on my way actually, since Private Moriston is now in more capable hands."

I turned to leave when he caught my shoulder, I looked at him and he asked, "Do you even have anywhere to stay? You don't exactly look like you're from around here."

It hit me then, when he asked. I was alone. There was no going back. I wasn't going to see Taylor again, or taste whatever concoction Sam had invented for the night. I wasn't going to finish high school or go to college. I was stuck in a world I had very little practical information about. I had no paperwork, birth certificate or anyone who would vouch for my identity. I was technically an illegal immigrant and I had just waltzed up to the military.

With herculean willpower I resisted the impulse to face palm. "No I don't have anywhere to stay."

He grinned suddenly, "Then you can stay with me and my wife for a while! You can see our daughter Elicia! I have a picture here, isn't she just adorable! In this one she has on her mommy's hat, isn't that just so cute!"

I stared dumbly at the man. When I had seen these outbursts on the screen I had laughed at the expressions of those on the receiving end and had doubted that any real person would ever just invite people they didn't know to be around their families, especially a family man of Hughes caliber. But here I was, experiencing it.

I backed up suddenly, "No, no that's fine, I'm sure that I can find a place to stay or something, there's no need for me to inconvenience you or anything."

"Nonsense!" Hughes grabbed my shoulders, and wheeled me around, pushing me through the crowd. "It's the least we can do for helping our man like that! Please, I insist."

I glanced around at everyone, half hoping that someone would rescue me, and the other part of me was hoping that I could actually get a place to stay for the night this easily. It was the middle of the night and I had no money that would be acceptable currency in this country, nor could it be exchanged. It was worthless paper now, cotton fiber paper, but still.

Hughes continued to talk as he forced me forward. "I have some other guests staying at the moment, but I'm sure we can hash out who sleeps where whenever we get there. I'm sure that the three of you will get along well."

While I was aware that the Elric brothers were staying with Hughes it hadn't quite hit me that I was now too. Meaning I got to meet them. The inner fangirl in me nearly went into cardiac arrest. I managed to pull myself together enough to put on the act that I DIDN'T know absolutely everything that would happen to everyone for the next while.

"Who are they?"

"Who are who?" Hughes snapped out of monologue in confusion.

"These 'guests' that you already have staying the night? You mentioned there were guests but didn't tell me their names or anything."

"Oh, it's the Fullmetal Alchemist and his younger brother Alphonse. Their around your age, maybe 14 and 15, they're really nice kids once you get to know them. How old are you anyway? I don't know anything about you and I'm taking you home with me."

I was finally saved by a deep voice resonating from behind us.

"Taking strays home again, Hughes. I thought you already had a few tucked away for now."

We both stopped and turned to face the person who spoke. I found myself face to face (rather face to chest, he's pretty darn tall) with Colonel Roy Mustang. A computer screen cannot do this man justice. If my inner fangirl nearly had a heart attack at the thought of Fullmetal she let out a banshee scream and died at the voice and appearance of the Colonel. I gave her a swift mental kick to get her moving again before tuning back into the conversation.

Hughes was just laughing at his friends' statement, "Oh, Roy, of course I still have them somewhere, do you think I would have let them stay anywhere else while they were still in town? And anyway this isn't just some random stray! This is the girl who rescued Private Moriston! I found out she has nowhere to stay so I was just doing the gentlemanly thing and offering her a bed for the night!"

He rolled his eyes, "Offering? From the looks of things you were abducting her-wait, did you say she rescue Moriston? What happened to him?"

All eyes were on me then. I froze for a second then summoned up every pathetic ounce of courage I had. "From what he told me he was a part of a group attempting to apprehend the Freezer Alchemist, and was hit by a stray 'ice bullet' of some sort, alchemy nonsense I can't comprehend, and got separated from his group. He stumbled around until he ended up in an alleyway. I was wandering around searching for a place to stay when I saw him. I stopped and patched him up and helped him to get here where they could care for him properly."

Through some of it I lied through my teeth, and didn't even bother trying to explain the whole 'alternate dimension your from a TV show' thing because that wouldn't fly. When I was done with my mini monologue Mustang raised one eyebrow. "Well then, that was noble of you."

It was obvious he could tell that I was barely suppressing the urge to roll my eyes. "It's what most anyone would have done in my place."

While I knew this wasn't true I replaced 'would' with 'should' within the boundaries of my mind, so that as I said it, it would ring true-ish at least. He could tell I wasn't quite convinced and decided to press the issue. "No, really, not many people would bother to help a member of the military if there wasn't something in it for them."

This time I did roll my eyes. I couldn't help it, I might have been strangely mature since I was 14 years of age, but I was almost positive that teenage attitude was not leaving my personality for years to come, it ever. I avoided eye contact as I responded, "Military or not, he's a human being." I looked over my shoulder to where the body of the rogue state alchemist was being processed.

I dimly heard Mustang reply, "True." Hughes began to drag me away once more, "I'll take her over to your temporary office in the morning so that she can add her statement to your mound of paperwork! For now we're both exhausted I'm sure, so I'll give you MY paperwork then too."

I heard a noise of disgust from somewhere behind me in response to Hughes cheerful statement. Apparently paperwork was not a good thing, who knew?

We wound our way through the streets of central, walking in silence for a while and I was finally relaxing, thinking that he had forgotten to ask his man questions about my identity. I wasn't confident in my ability to lie on the spot about where I was from, and why I was in Central. My hopes for getting away with not answering them earlier where shattered when he spoke up suddenly.

"So, Stephanie was it? How old did you say you were?"

I was tempted to answer that I hadn't said how old I was and then leaving it at that but Hughes was such a nice guy and he _was_ giving me a place to stay… I'm almost positive he had already assumed I wasn't going to answer because when I did he jumped.

"17."

"Eh, what was that?"

"I said that I am 17 years old. In a few months I'll be 18."

"Really? But you're so tiny!" I'm not sure if he expected me to blow up like Edward usually did, but I replied with a slight affirmative head bob. He continued on, "I mean, like super tiny! I can see your bones in many places, have you been eating properly?"

It registered that he was trying to imply that I was the standard runaway, with no place to live and who hadn't been eating for a while. In a way I had run away from home, but I was in poor health for quite a while now.

"I was ill recently and haven't quite recovered."

"Oh? It must've been some illness to have affected you like this."

"Severe emotional trauma compounded with various other unfavorable factors."

"That's quite a vocabulary you've got there."

"I read."

The conversation faded out, and I couldn't tell if Hughes was itching to ask about my past, or not. He seemed perfectly content to walk along in complete silence. I however was uncomfortable with allowing him time to stew about more questions to ask.

"So, you mentioned a daughter, Elicia, right?"

That immediately sent him into a monologue, complete with pictures about how cute and perfect his little girl was. He happily chatted away about her various adorable escapades, and I filed my mental copy of the photos into its own special album, putting it in the 3rd floor library, labeling it 'Elicia Hughes'. I made sure to make the cover pink (her favorite color apparently); even though I knew she would never see it. Details such as that organized my mind and kept order, they kept me sane.

I made comments occasionally, complimenting certain outfits or hairstyles that I saw, and Hughes was enjoying having an interactive audience for once. When we finally reached his house he hopped up the steps in excitement and flung the door open, "Honey, I'm back! And I brought another guest!"

As I stepped into the house, dread filling me at finally meeting the infamous Edward Elric, I took a deep breath. Then I stepped inside, and was immediately met with the sight of the familiar alchemist. Gold eyes surveyed me critically, and I waited with bated breath for his first words to me.

When he finally opened his mouth, what came out was, "Who the hell are you?"

**R&R**

**This chapter came out sooner than I promised, sorry, I was excited. Please tell me your thoughts.**

** ~TimeLordOfPie**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not Own Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood, or Doctor Who, or Sherlock**

"Well? Who the hell are ya, don't just stand there, say something!"

While the Fullmetal Alchemist berated me for my silence I experience my first ever anime sweat-drop. I hadn't expected there to actually be a feeling to it, but it was like a warm sponge sliding down the right side of my face, slowly, and then disappearing. Shaking off the strange new feeling and trying not to freak out a little I opened my mouth to answer Edward when Hughes cut in.

"This is Stephanie; she's going to be staying here until she finds a more permanent residence. There's a washroom up that hall and second room on the right. After dinner I'll look to see if we have anything for you to wear for the night, because I'm assuming you don't have anything of the sort in that bag."

My ears pricked up, I had thought this was one night deal, for until the military had my report about tonight and then was done with me. I should've known better, Hughes was too kind a man for that. I nodded to his question, and with a quick word of thanks I made my way to the bathroom he pointed out using my elbow to carefully push the door open, trying to avoid getting blood everywhere. I once again used my elbow, this time to nudge on the water, and I set about the tedious task of trying to make sure I didn't look like a serial killer anymore for when I would meet with other important characters. My first impression I made on Edward Elric was shot, nothing to do about it. I had shown up on the doorstep in the middle of the night, covered in blood, and most likely looking like crap.

After my hands were considerably cleaner thanks to a strange yet refreshing smelling purple soap I found by the sink, I inspected my clothes. My t-shirt was probably a loss, which saddened me a bit, but I would probably end up keeping it anyway as a memoir of my past life. At the sight of the Dalek on the front of my shirt all the blood fled my face. Doctor Who. I was going to miss the first full episode featuring Capaldi's Doctor. I wouldn't ever find out what happens to Clara, or Gallifrey. Nor would I ever see what new interior the TARDIS picked. I barley resisted slamming my forehead into the mirror in front of me, feeling an anime gloom settle on my shoulders, dark and thick.

By the time I had finished washing the blood spots from the stain/water (and apparently blood) resistant sleeves of my coat the gloom had faded, dreary acceptance penetrating the air instead. I checked my hair in the mirror one last time, running my fingers through the scraggly mess I sighed, wishing I'd thought to shove an elastic pony-tail holder into my bag before I left the house.

I walked back to the front room, noticing the absence of Hughes, and how Edward watched me suspiciously from his place leaned against the wall in the corner of the room. I hung my coat on a free hook by the door, pondering what I would have done if the coat had been ruined by all of the blood. Curl up and die was the most likely answer I could come up with.

My attention was once again snapped back to the real world when I heard clanking and another familiar voice filled the room, "Brother, what's going on? Oh, hello there miss."

I turned, filled with excitement at meeting sweet little Alphonse Elric, and then remembered he wasn't so little at this point in time. I looked straight up at the hulking suit of armor, and wondered how no one noticed that his eyes glowed red, and were obviously not originating from a solid human being within the suit. From the corner of my eye I noticed Edward looking at me wearily, as if waiting for me to faint at the sight of his little brother. I resisted an eye roll at the state alchemist and stuck out my hand for Alphonse to shake. As if anyone could be afraid of someone so sweet.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you, I'm Stephanie Arcaro."

He tentatively took my hand as if terrified that he might somehow break me, which was actually completely possible given that he had superhuman strength and I was pretty freakin' frail.  
"I'm Alphonse Elric, and the rude one over there is my big brother Edward. I've never heard a name like Arcaro before, is it from another country?"

My eyes darted up to his face, well, helmet, in surprise. He caught on to that way quick, even for the super genius he was said to be. Maybe I should have come up with a false name or something. I tossed that idea out; no way would I have been able to think of an Amestrian name that didn't already belong to someone.

"Yeah, it is from another country."

I watched him warily for any sign of suspicion towards me but he immediately brightened up, interested in our conversation at a whole new level. I should have known there wouldn't be suspicion that easily from this kid. He was a kind soul. The pun nearly made me choke on my own spit as I thought this, and I fought to keep a straight face in front of him, I wasn't supposed to know he was only a soul bonded to armor, but even if he didn't know what I was thinking, laughing hysterically for no reason would probably freak the poor kid out.

Alphonse radiated excitement, "So, since your name is from a different country, does that mean that you are too?"

Edward butt in at this point, "Stop Al, she probably doesn't want to play 20 questions."

After filing away the fact that they had 20 questions here, I spoke up, "I really don't mind, it gives me something to do, and a way for us to get to know one another." Edward rolled his eyes and flopped down on the couch, studiously ignoring the two of us. I turned back to Al with an eye roll of my own,  
"To answer your question Alphonse, Yes, I am from a different country."

He squirmed, and said distractedly, "Just Al is fine." And was about to launch into yet another question when a woman I recognized as Gracia Hughes popped her head in from what I assumed to be the kitchen, "I've heated up some dinner for you guys, if you'd like to eat now."

Edward jumped up, and bolted to the kitchen, leaving me and Alphonse laughing in his wake. I turned to the younger brother, "How do you put up with him?"

Al shrugged, "Practice, maybe?"

I snorted, and shook my head, making my own way to the kitchen. When I stepped inside I saw a buffet line sort of thing had been set up along the counter with bowls filled with different foods, and Edward loading up on most of it. I suppressed another eye roll, and was about to head back to the living room, appetite lost at the sight of Edward stuffing turkey down his gullet, when I bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there." I apologized to the Lt. Colonel, trying to step around him to get out of the room. He stopped me short, grabbing me by the shoulders and steering me towards to the food, "Oh, no Stephanie, we aren't having this. You already mentioned you were trying to get over that illness; I'm not having you risk your health in my house. Get some food, you need it, you're nothing but skin and bones!"

I rolled my eyes, but smiled slightly anyway, it was a bit difficult to be mad at someone trying so hard just to help me out. I grabbed a plate and piled a bit of food on. Grabbing the glass of water he handed me I headed to the room I had seen Edward enter to find that he and Gracia were already seated. Gracia wasn't eating, only nursing a cup of coffee and I guessed that she was making small talk. Both Hughes and I entered and found a place to sit, him digging in the moment his bottom hit the chair. He paused only to introduce me to his 'darling wife' and to apologize that Elicia 'her most infamous cuteness' was already in bed for the night.

I smiled slightly at Gracia, "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Hughes; I'm Stephanie Arcaro." I turned behind me to see Alphonse enter the room, sitting in the seat beside me, obviously lacking food. I heard the first few syllables of a quiet question begin from him but he was unintentionally cut off.

"Call me Gracia, dear. Is it true what Maes said? That you're getting over some illness?"

She sounded worried, her inner mother shining through. I nodded, "Yeah, I was ill recently. I lost more than 50 pounds, and I was by no means heavy beforehand. But I'm better now; I just have to be smart, and not push myself too much."

She didn't look very reassured, but before she could ask any more questions Edward piped in, "What did you have that would have caused that?" He seemed a bit interested in the conversation, actually pausing between bites to squeeze the question out.

I could see everyone was waiting for an answer, but I couldn't tell them what was actually wrong; saying 'Weeeell, I went crazy and my brain basically started eating itself' did NOT qualify as a good answer. I glanced down at my food so they wouldn't see the strange eye movement that happened while I was in my Mind Retreat, my version of a Mind Palace. While I'm in the Mind Retreat whatever I visualize myself doing, my eyes will follow as they would if I was actually doing it, so if in my Mind retreat I was reading, my eyes would scroll left to right, as if down a page, even if there was nothing in front of me. It freaked my brother out when it happened the first time. Since then I had learned to hide my eyes when I wanted to inconspicuously look things up, like now.

I retreated to my Mind, mental me taking off running from the last room I had been in and tumbling down the stairs to the first floor library. Unlike the 3rd floor library, which was full of pictures and memorabilia, this library was filled with solid information, such as medical conditions that would lead to sudden and extreme weight loss. It was modeled a bit after the Tenth Doctors control room, which thrilled me every time I went there. I went straight for what I was looking for, going directly to the pronunciation friendly part of the passage, and brought the info to the front of my mind where I could relay it back to the people waiting in the real world.

When I zoned back into what was actually happening around me, only a few seconds had passed. I breathed in preparing to speak when Alphonse cut me off, "No, Ed, that's not right! You shouldn't demand answers from her like that! If she feels like telling us, she'll tell us! Something so serious must have been traumatic for her; she probably doesn't want to be reminded of it!" Everyone in the room guiltily looked away, reluctantly agreeing with him.

I inwardly smiled, setting the medical book on the end table by the door to the library for easier access next time this situation happened. I emerged back into the world confident that I could handle everything. Then Alphonse asked another question, attempting to politely steer the conversation in a different direction.

"So, what country are you from then?"

I froze. Shit. There was no possible way to lie my way out of this one. I knew no countries in this dimension besides Amestris and I had already admitted I wasn't from there. I was so very screwed.

**Please review, it would be much appreciated. Sorry if the 'course language' used, like, once offended anyone, but the rating **_**is**_** T, so… anyway, thanks for reading, tell me any ideas, ask any questions you'd like. **

**I also apologize if some of the Doctor Who references confused anyone, they're just the way I think, they're kinda ingrained in me now. **

**~TimeLordOfPie **


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing but my OC(s).**

"So, what country are you from then?"

I froze. Shit. There was no possible way to lie my way out of this one. I knew no countries in this dimension besides Amestris and I had already admitted I wasn't from there. I was so very screwed.

I immediately retreated to my mind, aware that I could spend more time thinking in here than would actually pass out there. THIIINK, bitch, what's wrong with you, eh, some genius you are, can't even come up with a decent- wait. Never mind, duh.

"Oh, it's a small island; I doubt you've heard of it, very few people have. We don't really have much to offer, and we don't usually leave or associate with outsiders."

Hello, Hetalia poster in the middle of my mind retreat library. Thank you Japan, isolationist policy works perfectly for me.

"But you left it didn't you? Why?"

And damn you observant blonde bastard.

I glanced at Edward, my mind spinning through possibilities, the moment I see him his info starts running through my head, everything that I know about him, and it clicks that he left partly to escape a small town, or so my brother said when he explained the show to me the first time. I can use that.

"I just said it was tiny with not much to offer. The real question is why I didn't leave SOONER."

After that conversation flowed for a while, no longer centered on me, and I was finally allowed to eat. Not that I ended up eating much of it anyway, I don't have much of an appetite. As I sipped my water I felt a small headache forming on the bridge of my nose and identified the cause immediately from experience. I needed caffeine. However soda was one of the sacrifices that I made coming to this place.

Alphonse was telling me about a ginger kitten he had found a few days ago when Hughes interjected, "Well, Stephanie, we had better hit the sack. Both of us need to be at the office pretty early. We need to get all our work involving Roy done before he heads back to Eastern at noon."

I nodded and stood, grabbing my dishes and heading to the kitchen. As I was about to wash up, purely out of habit Gracia swooped in from nowhere, "I'll take these, you just head to bed now, Maes will show you where you can sleep for the night." She smiled kindly at me and I didn't have the heart, or the energy, to argue with her. I simply nodded, and thanked her before retreating to the living room where everyone had gathered to say their final goodnights.

Alphonse turned to me, "It was nice meeting you Stephanie, and I hope that we meet again sometime."

I raised an eyebrow, "Are you leaving?"

Edward leapt into the conversation, "Yeah, we set out for Liore in the morning, we'll have to leave here early to catch the train on time. This is the last we'll see of you for a while."

I shook both of their hands, smiling at them both, "In that case, it was a pleasure meeting you both, and I hope that we can meet again some time."

After the Elrics retreated to their shared guest bedroom Hughes showed me to a room in a corner of the house, he spoke quietly, "This is Elicia's room; Gracia has already laid out a place for you to sleep. I hope this is alright for you?"

When I nodded he continued, "This door through here is the bathroom, there are towels under the sink. I'll try to wake you early enough that you'll have time to shower."

After thanking him once again I slipped silently into the girls' room, and found the small bed of blankets on the floor. I didn't bother taking off my shoes or wrapping up in the blanket, the moment I touched the make-shift bed darkness surrounded me.

I was shaken awake before dawn, and was handed a small bundle of clothing. I stumbled unsteadily into the bathroom I had been shown the night before and showered quickly. I towel dried my hair, leaving it only slightly damp, falling in a scraggly mess around my face. I used the mini hairbrush that I always kept in my beg to attempt to tame the mess, then examined the clothes that I had been provided. I had completely ignored the black skirt that was provided for me, instead keeping my jeans. I again kept on my black camisole, and replaced my Dawn of the Daleks shirt with the plain black t-shirt that I had been provided.

I pulled on my converse and headed towards the kitchen where I could smell something distinctly bacon-like beckoning me closer. I stuck my head in to see Gracia at the stove, wearing a ruffled pink apron. When she saw me in the doorway she smiled, and handed me a plate containing eggs and bacon. I joined Hughes in the dining room, and we ate in comfortable silence.

As we dropped our dishes off in the kitchen we said goodbye to Gracia, with me thanking her for her hospitality. We both pulled on our respective trench coats and headed out into the city. We walked mostly in silence for a few minutes until it was broken by Hughes,

"So, what are your plans for the future?"

Startled by the sudden question I responded with an oh-so-intelligent "What?"

"Your plans for the future, what are you planning to do for a living. You must have thought of something when you set out for this place."

I shrugged, "I wasn't actually aiming specifically for here; I've just been traveling and just happened to end up here. It seemed like as good a place as any. As for what I'm going to do now, I have no idea. I would love to study Alchemy, but I doubt I'll have the opportunity for that. The best I can hope for is to find a job in some shop, a bookstore maybe."

I could feel his eyes on me as he weighed what he would say next.

"Have you ever considered the military?"

I glanced at him, startled, "No, I haven't seriously considered it. I figured since I was a foreigner I wouldn't be welcome in the military and I wouldn't be allowed to or something."

"Actually, it's one of the recommended options for you as an immigrant. There are several ways to earn citizenship, paying heavy taxes being one of the most popular. But there is always the option to serve 5 years in the military."

I considered it. Would I really be able to stand working for these people? Hughes or Mustang I wouldn't mind one bit, because I knew for a fact that they were good people with only the best of intentions, but if I did join the military then there would be every possibility I would end up working for an idiot of some sort, and a mean idiot at that. And even without the question of morals there was the possibility that I couldn't take military life. Certain physical standards were required for members of such an elite force, and I was certainly not up to those standards at the moment.

Then there was the little problem of so few women being involved in the Amestrian military, and those that I had seen on the show were decked out in skirts and heels, something that I would never consent to wear unless there was a life or death situation. As a female I could probably get away with just having a desk job, and leaving all difficult work to the men. But my pride would never allow me to sit behind a desk wearing a skirt while there was excitement happening outside.

Hughes was waiting for me to give an answer, but I wasn't sure of anything.

"Can I flip a coin or something?"

He laughed, "You could I suppose, but I wouldn't recommend leaving such an important decision up to chance."

"Hmmm, what would I be expected to do if I did join your military?"

"Well, it would depend on what branch you joined. There's the investigative branch, which I'm in, which is almost like a detective agency specialized specifically for the military. Then there are the medics, the state alchemists, and the plain soldiers who handle mostly just physical work. Obviously there is more than that, but those are really the only ones you need to worry with at the moment."

I was guessing it was possible to be in several branches at the same time, what with Armstrong and Mustang being regular soldiers as well as state alchemists, but I knew that wasn't an option for me at the moment.

I opened my mouth to ask another question when Hughes stopped me.

"I know you have a lot of questions about it, but I don't have all the answers. When we get into the office I'll grab the information for you to look over before your official statement is taken."

I nodded, still absorbed in my thoughts. How would I fit into the military? Honestly what could I offer, besides a good memory? Eventually they would have Scheska for that, so I wasn't even unique in that area. True my memory was undoubtedly better, seeing as hers was only photographic, meaning only image, and I could remember sound, smell, and taste as well, but that wasn't really something that would make me useful.

I walked into a large shadow and felt a chill run down my back. I looked up, and was met with the sight of a huge complex, consisting of large, impressive buildings. Central Military Command. I had arrived.

**Review please, they make me happy…**

**imafangirlforever- ****thanks muches ^.^**

**Onesmartcookie78-**** There SHALL be pairing(s), in due time, right now she's still meeting people for the first time, and seeing what they're like in person. And when you said 'Ray'…I searched the internet for a while for this 'ray' guy in FMA (and Brotherhood) before I realized it was Roy with a typo…felt like a dipstick for hours afterwards for not realizing (-.-)" hehe…**

**~TimeLordOfPie **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter5

'_Stephanie's thoughts'_

**I own nothing but my OC's.**

Tall monochrome buildings loomed over us as we entered the complex. Hughes stalked in like he owned the place, waving and grinning like a maniac at everyone in sight, while I tried to blend into his shadow. It was working better than I had originally hoped on account of the fact he had a pretty damn large shadow, being a tall man.

We were at the front desk in one of the buildings when he grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me in front of him, presenting me to the woman at the desk. She had thick brown hair, bushy in a way that instantly brought up a mental image of Hermione Granger in her first year at Hogwarts, that disaster of a mane from the first movie. Her face however was smooth and unblemished with a delicate smile at the sight of the rambunctious Lt. Colonel. Her eyes were dark green that made me classify her complete look as demented woodland fairy. If demented woodland fairies wore blue military uniforms.

"Gooood morning June! I need a visitors badge for one Stephanie Arcaro."

'June' leaned over the desk to get a good look at me, (curse my shortness) and smiled, although it held a slight tint of exasperation. "Did you pick another up off the streets, Hughes? You know kids aren't like kittens, you can't just keep them."

'_How many times has he done this? Picked a random teenager off the street and brought them to work with him?'_

June lowered her voice dramatically, "If you're here against your will blink twice."

I blinked once out of shock, then laughed at her antics, "Its fine, I'm just here for something that happened yesterday, I'm not quite a stray."

She looked at Hughes who was grinning innocently and gave an unconvinced, "Hmmm."

Then her attention snapped back to me as she filled out the visitors pass, asking me to spell my name for her. After she was finished she handed me a cheap, plain black lanyard with my information attached to the end. Hughes was about to continue marching into the building when she snapped an arm out to grab the back collar of his coat. His limbs flailed with an anime drama quality as he half heartedly attempted escape.

"You know the drill, Lt. Colonel. All visitors must have their bags checked before they can proceed into any part of the building, no matter who they're with."

She dropped him in a heap to the side of her desk and turned an endearing smile my way, holding her hand out for my bag, "I'll be careful, I promise, Miss Arcaro."

I nervously tugged the bag off my shoulder, sifting through my memory to remember what was in the bag. "Just Stephanie is fine."

I gently handed over the bag, and she set it down in the cleared area, reaching in to grab whatever was on top. I was fairly certain nothing damning was inside, seeing as I kept most of that in my hidden inside coat pockets. One of the worst that I didn't want them to find was my favorite pen. While that seems like a kooky thing to 'normal people' out there, you have to understand that I am a fangirl. My 'pen' was a full size tenth doctor sonic screwdriver, with actual working light on the end. It was a black light, used to reveal the 'invisible ink' from a different pen attachment that I kept in yet another pocket.

Even if you ignored the blatant 'future-ish' tech the whole 'invisible ink' thing didn't exactly scream trustworthy.

The first thing she pulled out was my 'Dawn of the Dalek' shirt, still ripped and with dried bloodstains. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow in question, eyes scanning me and just then noticing the dried blood encrusted near the bottom of my jeans. I shrugged at her and attempted a nonchalant air, attempted being the key word there. "Hey, shit happens." She rolled her eyes and set it to the side whilst shooting a disapproving look at a snickering Hughes standing in the background.

Next was a blue tie-die wallet, which she opened and found nothing but spare change because I'm broke and not allowed to drive. I thanked whatever powers that be that I had forgotten my driver's license at home; it would have been a pain to explain every aspect of it. Particularly since I had been an organ donor. Doubt they had that in this time frame. Kinda creepy to explain. 'Yes, if I die it means random Joe number 42 gets my spleen and random Jane number 71 gets my lungs.' Doubt that would go over to well.

She pulled out the coins and examined them closely, she glanced up at me, "I'm sorry for being nosy, really, I've just never seen currency like this. Where is it from?"

I froze and blurted out the first name that came to mind. "Tatooine." I nearly face palmed out of shame. Star Wars. I named my little isolated island after a planet from Star Wars. I suppose I should feel lucky I didn't say Gallifrey or some random thing from Dragon Ball Z, but Atlantis might have been a nice name. Then again they did have something resembling Greek myth seeing as Edward Elric told the story of Icarus and his wings of wax, so them knowing a legend similar to Atlantis was possible. Tatooine it is then.

She gave me a funny look at the name, and before she could ask anything Hughes butt in. "Is that the country you were talking about last night? The one where you're from?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I never did tell you much about it last night, sorry about that." I turned back to June, "Those are from my home, I seriously doubt they're worth anything here, even if melted down. They're kind of a mishmash of different metals that only have value because the government there said so. I'm just keeping 'em around for sentimental reasons."

She nodded and started placing them back in the wallet but stopped when she reached a rather shiny dime, "What does this number mean? 2001? Is this the value or something?"

I shook my head, "No, it's a year." I could've slapped myself. I continued on quickly, "An expiration date of sorts. They were trying to phase out certain types of coins at certain times and transition to paper money. It's a pretty long term plan."

She stared at it for a second, and I started to worry that she would read everything else on there. I resolved to melt them all into jewelry or something the first opportunity I got. They were much too troublesome. Eventually she put it back in the wallet and set it to the side.

2 packs of gum, a journal (written in Spanish as practice for the class, thank god, my secrets remain my own), a pair of bright purple socks, some loose peppermints, a zip-lock bag of homemade fudge, an unsharpened pencil, and we had finally arrived at the last item in my bag save the little balls of lint clinging to the bottom. She pulled out the bottle of pills and checked the prescription. Or rather, tried to. She glanced at me, "What language is this?"

Italian. But I'm not telling her that. I got my prescription when I lived with my grandmother in Sicily. Meaning all information on the bottle could only be read by me here in this whacky dimension.

"It's the language of my country." Not technically a lie. I'm Italian American. "It's a small island, extremely isolated." Slight lie. Island yes, small, not really, isolated, hell no.

She opened the bottle, having no trouble with the child-proof lid and I had to resist the urge to pout. I almost always had issues with it. Idiotic thing nearly cost me my life before.

"And apparently it's very advanced when it comes to medicine. I went to school to be a nurse, but I dropped out, fear of needles, ya know. I've never seen something like this."

I shrugged, "I couldn't tell ya much, I'm not a doctor."

"What's this for anyway? Because if its diet pills I'm gunna strangle you, I swear."

I laughed a bit, "No, it's for an illness I'm working to recover from."

Hughes suddenly spoke up and I jumped slightly, not expecting him to join the conversation.

"This illness of yours, you mentioned it last night, I don't mean to be intrusive but is it deadly without the right treatment?"

The questioned seemed random; it wasn't what I was expecting at all. I had up to 13 different responses for possible questions. This one not being one of them. I'm ashamed to say I was shocked honest.

"Possibly."

"Possibly?" the deep voice resonating from behind me caused me to jump once more. I turned to face a questioning Roy Mustang.

I withheld a fangirl squeal at the sight of him. Some may scold and say get a grip, you've seen him before, but some people just don't understand. This man is Fine.

Hughes dragged my attention back to the conversation at hand while June packed up my things in the background. "Why would you travel away from where there's treatment for you when you know you have a potentially deadly illness?"

"And drag out the time by doing nothing and sitting in a white room being careful not to break myself? No thank you, boredom would kill me first. Besides prolonging my life isn't really my greatest concern."

Hughes looked utterly confused, "Why wouldn't it be? Do you have a death wish or something?"

I shook my head, "Of course not, but I want to LIVE, not SURVIVE. Some people live more in 5 years then others do in 20, it's not the time that matters, it's the person." I felt proud of myself that I had managed to slip a Doctor Who quote into a normal conversation on these unsuspecting Amestrians.

"Besides, this illness of mine is pretty much gone, now it's just the long and slow road of recovery. All I have to worry about at this point in time is mind over matter. If I Let myself fall back into it again I will, but it's possible to just wing it and power through."

I grabbed my bag back from June, and turned to the two military officers, "So, where to now?"

Mustang gestured silently for us to follow him, seemingly still mulling over what I had said. But then again, he could be thinking about whatever he was gunna have for breakfast, that's also entirely possible. Hughes and I fell into step behind him, silently navigating the corridors. I geared myself up to answer all questions about why exactly I was in Amestris, praying that I didn't end this day in a cell.

A/N:

**Sorry it took longer than normal this time, the ammo and ammunitions store I work at caught fire and I don't really think I need to explain what gunpowder and bullets do when mixed with flame  
(Ska-DOOSH). ANYwhooo, review please, they make me feel loved. **

**ALSO! $#%%^&# = I WANT PEOPLES OPINIONS! Leave in the reviews if you want her to join the military or attempt civilian life, I wanna know what people think about either.**


	6. Chapter 6

***dodges tomatoes* eternally sorry for the wait, I was too ill to get out of bed and grab the laptop (sorry excuse, I know, but true none the less)**

**I Own nothing but my OC, so without further ado…**

**Chapter 6**

I ducked, and a combat boot clad foot soared over my head, wondering exactly how this situation had gone from tea time with the military to trying to keep all my limbs attached. Thinking back, I was almost positive that it was that Bastard Mustang's fault.

_He led us down the twisting corridors of Central HQ and opened the door to his office, ushering us in before him. When the door clanked closed behind me I tried extremely hard not to equate the sound with finality, but failed miserably. He walked behind his desk and sank into his seat with a small sigh, gesturing to the two couches facing one another in front of him. _

_For the next twenty minutes there had been semi-serious conversation over what I planned to do now that I was in Amestris, and no real questions as of yet on HOW I got into the country or where any legal documents where regarding my entrance. We had just broached the subject over what I was to going to do with myself now that I WAS in the country when the door slammed open and none other than the Fuehrer Bradley flanked by two men in blue uniform marched in. _

_Him swanking in and also enquiring about my plans left me at somewhat of a loss. WHY he would enquire about me was also confusing, seeing as I was a random, tiny, insignificant person. And he gave me a creepy vibe, rather than the grandfatherly one I had been expecting. I then informed them of what I saw as my only two options. The civilian life in Central paying the military tax to earn citizenship, or the military route. The moment I mentioned the military route the guard to the Fuehrer's left lunged for me. In the few seconds it took for him to come near me I slipped into my Mind Retreat and grabbed onto any and all memories I had on martial arts and gymnastics tossing them into the forefront of my mind. I used what little upper body strength I had left over from my short stint in marching band (don't judge) to break the fall when I dived off the edge of the couch and rolled to a kneeling position facing him, where I could easily avoid or attack. Granted most of the moves I had rolling around in my head came from watching Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, and Naruto and would most likely be unusable for me but there were a few self defense moves I knew from my brother, that I could (in theory) use against this guy. _

_I had no illusions about winning this fight. I was weak from long-term depression and malnourishment, with only working knowledge of martial arts and next to no recent experience. A slight obsession with Naruto in the past led me to take a few martial arts classes, but I hadn't continued when my health declined. But I sure as hell was gunna at least attempt to muscle memory this shit. _

Bringing me back to rolling on the floor again to avoid that offending foot. Mustang wasn't moving, and didn't look surprised at the attack on a small teenage girl in his office, and wasn't interfering, most likely meaning he was in on it. Hughes however was being held back by the other of the Fuhrers guards. So whatever this was, they hadn't had time to inform Hughes of it. The fact that Mustang knew meant they had taken time to plan it out, leaving an uneasy feeling in my gut that I had to ignore for the sake of staying in one piece for the next few minutes. I noted the set of the man's stance and predicted that he would swing wide, leaving an opening.

When he swung into the punch I gently redirected it with my left hand on his wrist, it was simple to use my smaller size to slip in and jab my right elbow sharply into his solar plexus, spinning around and jabbing my left fist firmly into his stomach, using my left foot to stomp on the tarsal bone in his foot whilst pushing off away from him. Sometimes it pays to have a thinking process quicker than most humans.

I used the mental image of the body's map of pressure points, doing lightning fast calculations and matching it up mentally with the man before me. I wasn't capable of the force necessary for those types of hits to put him down on the ground, but I was able to make him pause and wince, allowing me to get back out of range and into a little breathing room.

He took a step towards me and I slipped a foot behind me in a half hearted martial arts ready stance, coming up with over 40 ways to redirect his next attack. However before he could take another step Bradley raised a hand, a smile still on his face.

"Sorry about that Miss, but we set up this little test before you got here."

I watched warily as the man who attacked me relaxed completely and gave me a grin before going back to his place beside the Fuhrer, along with the man who had been restraining Hughes. Hughes brushed off his rumpled uniform before glancing back up at Bradley.

"Test?"

Mustang spoke up, "Due to the only real options available to Miss Arcaro we thought it best to run a few simple tests for if you military life would be doable for you."

I raised an eyebrow at him, slightly unimpressed, and from his slightly uncomfortable look he could tell.

"So did I 'pass' or whatever? What was the particular point of that test? What were the others?"

Bradley answered for the Colonel. "I would say you did very well on that last test. The point was only for reflexes, and to see if you could at least dodge or comprehend that you were under attack. However you took it a step farther and attacked right back. It would seem you already have a rudimentary knowledge of combat. However we'll have to work on your bodily strength. You are a bit on the tiny side."

I suppressed the strong urge to sweat drop at the tiny comment, because this was coming from the man that passed the Fullmetal Alchemist.

He continued, "The other tests were simple and inconsequential at the moment, slipped into the conversation by our dear Colonel and testing your intellect."

I shot Mustang a confused look, but Hughes face lit up in comprehension and he pointed at the Colonel accusingly. "Is that why I couldn't follow half of the conversation?"

I furrowed my brow in thought, thinking back to the conversation. There hadn't been anything that difficult, just some political theory, a bit of geosciences, and some mentions of foreign cultures I had 'encountered in my travels'- oh. I'm a stupid genius. Most girls my age wouldn't have been interested in half that stuff. This time I really did sweat drop. None of it had been specifics of this country that I wouldn't have known but Hughes would have, just generalizations that tested the waters in many different areas.

Bradley chuckled at my expression, "Relax Miss Arcaro, after all, you have secured a place in boot camp."

I paled rapidly, "Eh, say-what-now?"

"Boot camp, I'm going to throw you in with the rest of the new recruits and you're either going to build up some muscle or drop out for civilian life. If you can't handle it Miss, then you can always drop out at the weekly check in with your assigned officer."

Oh, no, he did NOT just emphasize the Miss in that sentence. I'll show that sexist bastard- wait, that was his intention. Damn.

Bradley: 2  
Me: Zippo at the moment.

"And who might my assigned officer be?"

Bradley motioned his head at the Colonel, "Unfortunately our dear Colonel Mustang has to return back to his post at East headquarters, so the only one left with the appropriate connection to you is Lt. Colonel Hughes. He will be checking up on you during evening mess every Wednesday."

At a sudden signal from Bradley his two henchmen each grabbed onto one of my arms, one handing my bag to Hughes, and then steering me out of the room. "We're going to get you a physical and then off you'll go!"

He cheerfully led the way out and I looked over my shoulder at the shocked Hughes and resigned looking Mustang, "Look after my coat, would ya? Sentiment and all that, all I have left of my brother."

When I got a nod from Hughes I looked forward and stopped dragging my heels, walking with the men instead.

At least this solved my issue of how to get close enough to change things. If Hughes was my assigned officer I would most likely end up in his unit afterwards because he had such a close handle on my training.

On the downside I now had to go through a hell-ish stay in military boot camp. Joy. There had better be fucking soda in this mess hall they mentioned.

**I know some were in favor of her being a civilian, but she would have next to no means to change things. Plus realistically speaking I don't see it being possible for someone of her intelligence to go unnoticed for it by Mustang, and him not being a good little soldier and reporting. Anything remotely useful is grabbed by the military, and at the moment that includes poor little Stephanie. **

**Also, I've got a few chapters of a Naruto fan fiction saved up and ready to publish, and was wondering if anyone was even remotely interested in anything else I have to write, if so PM or leave in the reviews**

**Soooo, review pleeeeaaase? ^.^ **

**~TimeLordOfPie**


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own anything but my OC.

I lazily poked the _thing_ on my tray that the staff of the mess hall insisted was food. I could have sworn that it was staring back at me in all of its sludgy glory. I glanced up at Maes who was looking at it with equal trepidation, turning slightly pale with it continued to giggle for several long seconds after it was touched. He commented absentmindedly, "Does science even allow for that?"  
I looked at the sludge apathetically, "Nope."

He shivered, "All right, with that out of the way, how are you doing?"  
It was the 5th Wednesday meeting, and I was the farthest I had been from quitting. That first Wednesday had been killer. Maes had barely walked in the door of the mess hall and I was hanging from his back like a demented koala bear, begging him to smuggle in some caffeine for me. He had promptly shrugged me off into a chair and slid an old fashioned bottle of soda onto the table. He was halfway through asking if I needed help opening the top when there was a soft 'pop' and suddenly half of it was gone. Apparently my thought about soda in the mess hall was spoken out loud and remembered by the considerate Lt. Colonel. I had been worried about finding a fix for my addiction because of the cultural differences between Amestris and America, but the term soda still came from the sodium salts in carbonated water.

I looked up at Hughes, trying to read his expression. The first few weeks he'd had trouble leaving me behind in this place. That first meeting, after the whole soda incident he finally got a good look at me. I was even skinnier than when he had first seen me, a frightening sight to behold. Every part of me hurt in ways I didn't know was possible and the food was _looking at me_. When I told him the last part he had lightened up a little, but still kept asking if I was sure I wished to stay. When he asked why I would just shrug, and change the subject. The real reason was my sanity. I hadn't had anything close to an attack while in the boot camp. There was no time to slip too deep into my mind; I had to focus all of my energy completely on survival.

By week five I no longer hurt all the time, and had put on a little bit of muscle. Not enough to look strange on my small form, but enough to keep me alive in the exercises. I was built like a gymnast, and still had too little weight for 'lady problems' to even think of tripping me up every month. All in all, I was doing pretty well. Not to mention I was kicking ass in the theory work. When they said we were moving the afternoon exercises into the classroom the training unit I was in had been split down the middle in reactions. Half were horrified at going back to 'school' and the rest were thrilled to be getting away with the torture of the physical workouts. When our first test was the day after the material was introduced I knew that this was going to be mainly to test dedication. They wanted to see who would get the material, work their ass off until nightfall and then study until lights out.

I'm pretty sure I blew the instructors minds with my perfect scores in every test. When it came time to move on to weaponry any sort of rifle was ruled out because most of them were bigger than me. I was decent at most handguns, but I was certainly no Hawkeye. Putting it together and taking it apart again was no problem, because once again, memorization. Overall my scores were okay.

I grinned at Hughes, "I'm alright, I think. It's getting bit boring now, there's nothing really new being introduced lately." He rolled his eyes.

"That's probably because it's your last week; they're winding down, and smoothing out those last few quirks, I doubt they have anything new left to teach."

I looked up from my tray, eyes wide, "It's the last week?"

He nodded, looking a bit amused, "Yeah, Friday I'll be back to pick you up and take you to your new apartment on base, if you decide to stay that is. After you drop off your stuff we'll go through the paperwork for everything, and find a place for you."

Only another day and half until freedom, well, sort of.

By the time Friday rolled around I was bouncing around the place like some sort of pixie on crack. I was waiting by the main door to the training compound, an officer sitting in his desk nearby, waiting to sign out anyone qualified to leave. I had a small military issue bag that included two sets of uniforms (complete with pants, I had blatantly refused to wear a skirt), toiletries, and the paperwork to apply for a weapon. I would have to get a military ID number before I could turn those in.

I scanned again for Hughes and finally spotted him, I tried to run towards him only to be intercepted by the officer. "Not quite yet missy, we have to get you signed out first before you can leave."

I scowled, but nodded, waiting impatiently for him and Hughes to finish their customary greetings and then the required paperwork. After what seemed like an eternity Hughes was leading me out of the building and to another one on what seemed like the other side of the compound. It was a grueling walk, and normally I would have been huffing and puffing and terrorizing pigs in stick houses, but after a rough month of military training I was feeling pretty good. Better than I had felt in a while actually.

My apartment was on the 3rd floor, in the east section of the main headquarters compound, with a tiny bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen/living room. I wasn't complaining though, especially when I saw my bag from home on the small couch, accompanied my carefully folded jacket, pockets undisturbed. I could probably take modern quality for that, the inside pockets most likely wouldn't even be found unless you knew where they were already.

We sat down at the small table in the kitchen/living room and he spread the paperwork in front of me.

"Normally new recruits aren't given anything more substantial than grunt work for the grunts, but according to your test scores in certain areas, I'm willing to bend things a little. I've had you assigned to my unit in investigation. I hope you can handle long hours and little sleep."

I almost couldn't believe my luck. I got where I needed to be, with minimal effort. Of course I had gone a little above and beyond for any bit of work that could be tied into the investigative branch, so maybe I had skewed my chances in my favor. A little.

With a signature and my ID handed to me as well as a small amount of cash for food and other such necessities I was left to acquaint myself with my new home. I decided to put off the shopping for food a bit, and instead enjoyed my first HOT shower in a long while. After dressing my once again military issue pajamas I resolved to buy some casual clothing and drifted to sleep.

A few weeks into my new life I had been faced with almost every criminal investigation imaginable, from fraud to drugs, with a murder here and there. Hughes didn't really question my ability to keep every file in his office meticulously in place, but worshiped it whenever paperwork seemed to be breeding and he could just hand it to me to fix the problem. I knew quite a few people around the base and the staff in the main cafeteria knew my routine well enough that they could hand me what I wanted without me saying a word.

Hughes wasn't joking about long hours and little sleep. If I hadn't had a caffeine dependency before I would have developed one quickly. On top of the ridiculous case load we had I had taken it upon myself to stay fit, even after leaving boot camp. I ran at the track every morning around dawn, switching up the theme of the day, between how long I could go and how fast I could make a certain number of loops around. My small size made for ridiculous speed, which I was grateful for, because I was positive my future would be full of running away from the conflict to leave room for the real fighters to do their jobs.

My nights, when not filled with endless streams of paperwork, where dedicated to finding whatever I could in the state library that had to do with alchemy. I even went so far as to locate Doctor Marco's books and give them a read through. However I was by far no alchemist and couldn't spot the code for the life of me, so I left it alone. First starting out I had been terrified of alchemy for several reasons. One being that something would wrong and I would accidentally kill myself with it, and another being that it simply wouldn't work because of the fact that I wasn't originally from this dimension.

My first transmutation had put one of those fears to rest. My slightly demented statue of Batman had come out looking more like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I began planning ruthlessly for Hughes death, centering any theory I had to save him on alchemy, and doing small scale experiments to test the likeliness of their success. It took me 3 weeks to finally come across a plan I liked that didn't seem overtly stupid at first or even second glance, and I began slowly gathering the supplies needed for the real thing, taking the money out of my food budget and cutting back a little on luxuries like dinner that I didn't _quite_ need for survival. While some bits of it bordered the lines of human transmutation I took heart at the fact that I wasn't touching human souls, so technically I was clear.

I was getting close to ready, really close, when it happened. I was sitting in my desk, in an the corner of Hughes office calmly going through photos of a dismembered woman for the wrap-up of a cold case when Hughes swept in, grabbing his gun from his desk, as well as several other items and stashing them in his trench coat.

"Come on Steph, Roy's got some troubling brewing at Eastern command, we have an express military cargo train waiting for our team and a few others going for other reasons, we should be there before sundown." I looked out the window behind his desk at the dark sky, not even showing a hint of the sun rising yet and sighed, but grabbed all of my gear anyway. I pulled on my own trench coat and added my handgun to the holster, and grabbing my bag from home. It was still my everyday bag, carrying everything I would need for anything from a murder case to a shopping trip.

"What kind of trouble, boss?"

At the first mention of the nickname 'boss' a few weeks ago Hughes had protested venomously. I had only been making a reference to NCIS Special Agent Gibbs, but if it bothered him that badly I was gunna keep it, *cue evil grin*.

He had stopped rolling his eyes by now, it was slightly disappointing.

"Fullmetal trouble, with a side of insane bio-state alchemist."

Tucker. Alexander. _Nina_. Hughes death was getting close and I was running out of time. I ran after Hughes, determined not to let him out of my sight, even if his death was a ways off. By the time we were on the train to Easter command I was over the shock of the progression of events, and attempting to prepare myself for the crime scene ahead of me.

Dead men-handled.

Dead women-ew, and hitting a bit close to home, I am female myself.

Dead children- no one can really stomach that.  
I leaned my head against the window attempting to catch some sleep; I hadn't been home yet from the night before and was desperately in need of some shut eye. The murder scene would still be there when I woke up. Unfortunately.

Sorry about the wait, again. 5-9 days with more work at home are kicking my butt. I'll try to update sooner next time. And for those waiting for the Naruto fanfic update that one will take a little longer for Ch. 2, the USB it's contained on is in between the car cushion things in another state with a family member for now so…. Yeah. Not gunna even try to type it again from memory, I'd murder it.

Review please.

~TimeLordOfPie


	8. Chapter 8

I was shaken awake after what seemed like moments. I glared blearily up at Hughes, who was wearing an unusually somber expression.

"We're almost there, gather your gear."

I sighed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and standing to give a cat-like stretch. My back gave several sickening pops, followed soon after by the joints of my ankles, knees, elbows, and shoulders. I was just cracking my neck when Hughes walked back into the compartment.

"Getting your game on already?"

I scowled lightly, but didn't comment. He had long since picked up on the fact that I wasn't taking a situation seriously until I went through my little routine of loosening all of my joints like that. Some old discrepancy in calcium intake when I was a child ended with the frequent popping and catching. If I cracked them ahead of time they'd move easier. Because of that I had taken to cracking all of them before seriously tackling a case.

Hughes thought it was just a way to switch frames of mind, but in reality it was to keep my limbs from seizing up and not moving at an important (or embarrassing) time. I was already full of illness and weakness, and there was no reason to give him another.

By the time we had reached the city our debriefing was complete. Five of us were there from Centrals investigative department to complete the investigation. All of us were reluctant to see the 'evidence.' A young girl, his own _daughter. _

While I had known it was coming that didn't mean that I still wasn't shocked. Some part of me had stupidly hoped that my Intel was wrong, that maybe the anime had been slightly inaccurate in some areas. The guiltier part, the part I'm ashamed to have, was glad that it was right. It meant that my other information was right as well. I quickly shoved that part down, punching her in the face, and shoving her in a disused closet somewhere in my mind retreat, locking the door, and putting the imaginary key into my imaginary blender.

Our arrival at the crime scene showed it already cordoned off; with sheets covering two lumps on the ground that smelled sickeningly like burned human flesh. I was familiar with the smell from my last encounter with it, a week long investigation into an arson case that turned out to be an electrical fire. Accident or no accident, the woman was still roasted. At that thought I zoned out a little, staring at the plastic, when had I gotten so morbid? I wasn't exactly all sunshine, daisies, and kittens before, but this was ridiculous. Maybe that was the screwed up military mindset of this weird-ass made up country. I'd been infected.

I shivered at the thought and went to pull up the yellow tape to walk through but found it already held high over my head. My eyes followed it to the pale hand holding it in place and found Colonel Mustang looking at me, a slightly concerned expression on his face.

"Are you alright Sergeant Arcaro?" Confusion reigned for a second, before I remembered that I had just been standing in front of a crime scene, staring at the cadavers, and I had only just joined the military recently. He thought I was getting all squeamish like a rookie. Sadly, I had acclimated a while ago.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear it; a superior officer (and main freakin' character) was waiting patiently for my answer. "Yeah, I'm fine, just got lost in my thoughts. Sorry sir; won't let it happen again."

He examined me for a long moment before nodding and motioning me ahead with his free hand, but I noticed he didn't seem too convinced. I strode forward, carefully avoiding the pools of blood, per my CSI training (yes they have that here, no I don't mean the show) and made my way to where I had seen Hughes disappear. I was just stepping into the room when I felt a large hand close on the upper part of my left arm, attempting to pull me back before I stepped through. They weren't quick enough, because I caught sight of the gruesome mess on the floor that used to be Nina and Alexander. I wasn't supposed to know that however, so I played dumb, turning to Mustang, who had attempted to spare me the mangled spectacle.

"What happened here? I thought we were here to investigate illegal alchemy, not several brutal murders!"

Mustang looked over my shoulder for a second and made a motion with his hand, then turned me around and lead the way into the room. The body of Ni-the Chimera (if I think of it as a child one more time I'm going to feint or puke) was now covered with a plastic sheet like the bodies outside. Mustang made his way over to Hughes and I followed. Hughes looked up, and asked the same thing I did.

"What happened here?"

Mustang didn't remove his eyes form the tarp at his feet. "They were attacked. The guards outside, Tucker, and his daughter, all combusted from the inside." Hughes eyes widened.

"You mean like the Alchemist killers MO?"

Mustang nodded, not moving. When a second passed in silence I decided to get the plot moving, hoping to save a certain blonde a few broken limbs.

"Where are the Elrics?"

They both turned to look at me, uncomprehending. I rolled my eyes, allowing a small bit of urgency to coat my tone.

"The _Fullmetal alchemist_? Running around alone with his little brother when a dangerous serial killer known for targeting _state alchemists_ is known to be in town?"

The color visibly drained from the already pale Colonel, and Hughes understood a half second later, his own face following suit. Mustang practically ran out of the room, barking out orders. Hughes and I followed behind, jumping into the vehicle we had arrived in, and setting out to help search for the brothers. It didn't take long for us to find them; frankly we just followed the sound of explosions. Any hope I held for us arriving earlier than in the anime due to my intervention was crushed. They were well into their confrontation already. As we screeched to a stop Mustang was already set up to fire upon Scar. Hawkeye swept his feet out from under him as we approached, and I drew my weapon. I saw Armstrong from the corner of my eye and wondered how I had missed him before. He came here from Central, meaning we were somewhere on the same train. I dismissed the thought for later, instead focusing on the serial killer in front of us.

I didn't bother attempting a shot; I knew that if Hawkeye could barely graze him after a lifetime of sharpshooting I wouldn't stand a chance, I had never so much as finished off my first box of bullets yet. It was thrilling, yet terrifying, with all of the alchemy flying around. I hesitantly stepped up next to the other soldiers, raising my weapon, preparing to back up Armstrong, at least holding the weapon at the ready so I didn't feel as useless as I actually was However Hughes pulled me back with him, hiding slightly behind the car.

I gave him a sour look, but stayed where I was. It proceeded exactly as it was supposed to, but it was much more exciting (read as terrifying) in person. I made yet another mental note to make some sort of jewelry with an alchemic array of some sort, so that I wouldn't get caught completely off guard and unarmed by someone as dangerous as these people.

Hughes popped up as normal, going on about not joining a fight of mutants. I rolled my eyes, looking over to where Edward was getting patched up so he could make it to the hospital for a formal checkup. I then looked at the hole in the ground where Scar had disappeared. I hadn't noticed that my gun was still in my hand, hanging at my side with my hands still trembling slightly from what I assumed was after-adrenaline weakness, until glove covered hands softly relieved me of the weapon. I looked up, finally tuning into the conversation, to notice the two officers were looking at me with something akin to worry. I blinked slowly, "I'm sorry did you say something?"

Mustang sighed, still holding my gun, "I asked if you were alright. When was the last time you've eaten? You're still looking as thin as when I last saw you."

I grimaced, "Am not."

He looked me in the eye and raised an eyebrow. "You didn't answer my question, when did you last eat?"

I looked to Hughes for help, but he was as stern as Mustang. I tried to appeal to him anyway. "What does it matter when I last ate, there are more important things going on."

Hughes grabbed my shoulders, looking into my eyes, "It matters because you're trembling, and you don't get frightened from this kind of violence, you took out that Martin guy looking slightly bored. You're tiny, but with nerves of steel, and it's our jobs to worry about our subordinates, so excuse us for worrying about your health. When did you eat?"

I glanced at the grey sky, thinking back, "Err, I had lunch on Wednesday."

Hughes deadpanned, "its Saturday."

I shrugged, "I was planning to eat dinner when I got home, but Stevens handed off the requisition forms to me, so I was still there when you came in and said to get on the train."

"You didn't go home?"

"It happens."

Hughes groaned, dragging both hands down his face. "Come on then, I'll take you with the Elrics and get you something at the hospital while I take their statements. You need to take better care of yourself, the military can be extremely hard on the body, and you have to be ready for the strain of something like this."

I rolled my eyes but copied him as he saluted Mustang and we were dismissed. As we were walking away I heard Mustang make one last parting remark, "No skirt, Arcaro?"

I rolled my eyes as Hughes snickered, glancing back over my shoulder to give him a half-hearted glare, his deep laugh floating behind us as we made our way to the car.

A/N:

Review please. ^.^

~TimeLordOfPie


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